Guide to the Guide to papers relating to Sir Herbert Kingsley Paine and Helen Waldsax
MS 10117
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Created: 2010
Collection Summary
- Title
- Papers relating to Sir Herbert Kingsley Paine and Helen Waldsax
- Date Range
- 1895 - 2002
- Collection Number
- MS 10117
- Extent
- 1.65 metres (1 MS Box + 1 Map-folio)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Scope and Content
This small collection contains personal papers relating to South Australian Bankruptcy Court Judge Sir Herbert Kingsley Paine and his daughter Helen Waldsax (nee Paine), who was an advocate for woman's rights and equality and served as President of the Watford Branch of the National Council of Women. It consists of letters, school reports, certificates, newspaper clippings such as obituaries and interviews, photographs, articles and a booklet by Helen Waldsax on the history of the Watford Branch.
The papers relating to Sir Herbert largely document his schooling at the Collegiate of St Peter and then the University of Adelaide, together with papers relating to his death, including an obituary, tributes from colleagues and friends and family history material.
The papers relating to Helen Waldsax include reports and other documents from her schooling at Poltoonga St Peters, Girton Proprietary School for Girls and the University of Adelaide, together with material relating to her early career as an almoner, her life in Watford, Hetfordshire after her move to England in 1945, and her involvement with the Watford Branch of the National Council of Women. There are also papers relating to her death, including an obituary and orders of service for her funeral.
Access
Available for research. Not for loan.
Preferred Citation
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], [collection title], National Library of Australia, MS [collection number], [series and/or folder/item number]'.
Provenance
The papers were donated by Ralph Waldsax (son of Helen Waldsax) in 2010.
Related Materials
The papers of Reinhard Waldsax (husband of Helen Waldsax) are held in the Library's Manuscript Collection at MS 10110.
Arrangement
The papers donated to the Library did not appear to have any particular arrangement upon receipt, and the collection has been rearranged into series by Library staff. Groupings of related papers within series has been retained as received.
Biographical Note - Sir Herbert Kingsley Paine
Sir Herbert Kingsley Paine was born on 26 January 1883 in Gawler, South Australia. He was the second child of English accountant Herbert Paine and his wife Helen Milne. He won several scholarships while studying at St Peter's College including the Farrell Open scholarship in 1897, the Young Exhibition in 1899, and the Westminster scholarship in 1900. He graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1904 and was admitted to the South Australian Bar in 1905.
Paine practiced in Port Pirie, Gawler and Kadina until 1922 when he was appointed as special magistrate, first at Wallaroo and then the Adelaide Local Court. In 1926 he headed a Royal Commission to investigate allegations of bribery against certain police officers in the South Australian police force. In 1933 he was made Director of the Farmers Assistance Board which was set up to assist country areas during periods of hardship such as the Depression. After retiring as a judge of the local court in 1948, Paine served as an acting puisne judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1949-1950 and 1951-1952. He was praised by his peers for his manner and skill and was made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George in 1944 and knighted in 1953.
Paine was noted for his long and distinguishable career as a judge. He served as the judge of the Bankruptcy Court in South Australia for 46 years, before retiring in 1972 at the age of 89. He died several months later in Adelaide.
Biographical Note - Helen Waldsax
Helen Waldsax (nee Paine) was born on 16 November 1915 in Kadina, South Australia and was the daughter of Sir Herbert Kingsley Paine. She graduated with a history degree in 1938 and a Diploma of Social Science in 1939 from the University of Adelaide.
Waldsax received training as an almoner at the Victorian Institute of Hospital Almoners in 1940. After finishing her training, she was appointed as a social worker for the Family Welfare Bureau in Adelaide from 1940 to 1942, assisting families of men in the defence services. Following this she joined the Red Cross and became a Rehabilitation Officer until 1943. In 1944 Waldsax was sent to the UK by the Red Cross as a social health worker. She met her future husband, the German political refugee and Dunera Boy Reinhard Waldsax, on the journey to England. They settled in Watford, England after their marriage in 1945 and she became a British citizen in the same year.
Waldsax was an advocate for equality and women's issues and an active member of the Watford community, joining the Watford and District Branch of the National Council of Women. She served as their President in 1976 for two years and also wrote a history of the branch. Waldsax was appointed as Justice of Peace for the County of Hertford in 1964. She also served on the bench of the Watford Magistrates' Court from 1964 to 1980 and was the Watford Chairperson for the Save the Children organisation.
Helen Waldsax passed away on 5 July 2000 in Watford from pneumonia.
Item Descriptions
Series 1. Sir Herbert Kingsley Paine, 1895-2002 (bulk 1972)
This series comprises a group of collected papers relating to Sir Herbert Kingsley Paine. It includes a variety of formats such as school reports, newspaper clippings and letters.
Folder 1 comprises Paine's Collegiate of St Peter school reports, beginning at third term, 1895, up to fourth term, 1900. His final place for the third term in 1895 was 24. In the next term he was in the seventh place and the Form Master noted that he was potentially one of the best boys in the form. By the first term of 1897 he had reached first place. There is a congratulatory note from the Head Master in 1897 for winning the Farrell Scholarship.
Folder 2 comprises various papers relating to Paine from his years at the University of Adelaide to his death. It includes a newspaper clipping for the September 1896 Pass List for the University of Adelaide and a program for a Special Congregation at the University of Adelaide, 11 July 1901. There is a newspaper clipping from 1971 in which Paine was interviewed about his long-held position as Judge of the Bankruptcy Court.
After Paine's death in 1972, the Bankruptcy Courtroom of Adelaide compiled tributes to him. Contributors included: the Solicitor General B. R. Cox Q. C.; the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy J. T. Johnstone; the President of the Law Society S. J. Jacobs Q. C.; and the Acting Judge in Insolvency Judge M. White. There is also a copy of a statement by the Commonwealth Attorney-General Senator, Ivor J. Greenwood in regards to the Paine's death.
Other papers relating to his death include newspaper clippings of his obituary and death notice, documents relating to his estate, and his last Will. There are a few letters from 1972 to 1973 addressed to Helen Waldsax in regards to his death, as well as a family history group record compiled in 2002 which lists Paine's birth, marriage and death details, the names of his parents and the birth and death details of his father Herbert Paine.
Comprises 2 folders.
Series 2. Helen Waldsax, 1923-2000
This series contains a grouping of collected papers relating to Helen Waldsax. It contains a variety of formats including school reports, certificates, letters, newspaper clippings, and a booklet by Waldsax.
Folder 1 contains Waldsax's school reports from Poltoonga St Peters and Girton Proprietary School for Girls. The Poltoonga St Peters school reports covers May 1923 to the end of 1927. The Girton school reports covers term two of 1927 to term three of 1929. There is also a photocopy of the 1933 Girton Magazine which includes a photo of Waldsax as a school prefect.
Folio 2 contains the University of Adelaide Bachelor of Arts certificate awarded to Waldsax in 1938.
Folder 3 contains papers relating to Waldsax's application for an almoner position in England in 1944 and papers relating to her application for British naturalization. The application papers include her Victorian Institute of Hospital Almoners certificate awarded in 1941, a resume, and letters of recommendation dated from 1944. She became a naturalized British citizen in 1945.
Folder 4 contains various papers relating to Waldsax's life in Watford, Hetfordshire. It includes correspondences from 1964 in regards to her application for Justice of the Peace of Hertfordshire. There are papers dating from 1966 to 1982 relating to her involvement with the Watford Branch of the National Council of Women including newspaper clippings of interviews with Waldsax and a booklet she wrote on the Watford Branch's history from 1918-1982. Papers relating to Waldsax's her later years include some letters from family and friends, and an obituary and orders of service from her funeral in 2000.
Folder 5 contains miscellaneous papers. It includes a 1972 pamphlet from and newspaper clipping on Henry Carr, photocopies of an article on social workers in South Australia, and letters from 1995 and 2000 addressed to Waldsax's children.
Comprises 4 folders and 1 map folio packet.